TheCable

The Nigerian military has captured Boko Haram militants disguised as women in its current operations at Baga, in  the northeastern state of Borno.

On Saturday, the Nigerian defence headquarters announced that the terrorists had been expelled from the fishing town of Baga.

Boko Haram militants had captured the town in January, killing dozens of people and displacing many more in what Amnesty International described as “possibly the deadliest episode in the history of insurgency in the country”.

But recently, in a fierce offensive operation by the Nigerian air force, the terror group’s strongholds of Sambisa and Gwoza had come under heavy bombardment.

“The cordon and search in Baga has revealed some terrorists disguising as women. The searches are also yielding more discoveries of arms especially bombs hidden in various locations, especially Baga town. Apart from those captured in the course of fighting, many arrests of terrorists hiding in the town are being made and troops are still busy interrogating the suspects,” Chris Olukolade, a major-general and director of defence information said in a statement on Monday.

“Meanwhile, in furtherance of the mission to clear terrorists from all their enclaves by the military, the Nigerian air force has stepped up its air bombardment of identified targets in Gwoza, Bama and Sambisa forest, preparatory to other phases of the mission. The air strikes have been highly successful as they achieved the aims, hitting vital targets with required precision.”

Olukolade added that the terrorists were now in disarray as they scamper to escape from the impact of air bombardment of their locations in the forest.

“Having successfully liberated Baga where the terrorists have been marauding, the troops’ attention has now been focused on consolidation of the security of the area to pave way for return of citizens,” he said.